World Diabetes Day 2013: Diabetes Education and Prevention

World Diabetes Day is the major global awareness campaign or diabetes mellitus in the world! "ts launched on #ovember 1$ o each year and lasts an entire year! #ovember 1$ is the birthday o %ir &rederic' (rant )antin who irst isolated and puri ied insulin* the hormone involved in this illness* in 1+21 and 1+22! ,he irst such campaign was in 1++1 by the "nternational Diabetes &ederation and the World -ealth .rgani/ation in response to the alarming rise o diabetes around the world! &or 200+02013* the theme is Diabetes Education and Prevention! 1nd prevention is always better than cure!

We need education about diabetes because its a serious illness! "ts been common* its becoming more common! %igni icantly* its getting more common amongst the young* our uture! 1nd a lot o it is preventable with some simple and good advice!

"ts a serious illness! Diabetes mellitus* or simply diabetes* is a group o diseases in which a person has high blood sugar* either because the pancreas does not produce insulin 2,ype 13* or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced 2,ype 23! "nsulin is important to our bodies because it allows our cells to ta'e up the glucose rom ood to use as energy! ,his high blood sugar produces re4uent urination* increased thirst and increased hunger! 5ong6term results o high blood sugar can include heart disease* stro'es* damage to eyesight* 'idney ailure which may re4uire dialysis* and poor circulation in the limbs leading to amputations! ,ype 2 diabetes in particular is associated with a ten6year6shorter li e e7pectancy! ,his is partly due to a number o problems with which it is associated* including: two to our times the ris' o heart and blood vessel disease* including heart disease and stro'e8 a 206 old increase in cutting o lower limbs 2amputations3* and increased chances o entering hospitals! "n the developed world* and increasingly elsewhere* type 2 diabetes is the largest cause o blindness that is not caused be injury and 'idney ailure! "t has also been associated with an increased ris' o brain damage* through diseases such as 1l/heimer9s disease and vascular dementia!

Diabetes mellitus has been common or a while* with around 30 million cases globally in 1+:;! "ts becoming more common* as o 2010* an estimated 2:; million people had diabetes* with type 2 diabetes ma'ing up about +0< o the cases! "ts going to get even more common* by 2030* this number is estimated to almost double! 1nd its getting more common in children! Previously* type 1 diabetes was 'nown as =juvenile onset= diabetes! whereas ,ype 2 diabetes was a disease more commonly associated with adults! "n act* it used to be called adult6onset diabetes! )ut now type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise* ueled largely by the obesity epidemic! %o all in all* there is a good chance that even i we do not su er rom this illness* someone we 'now will* or already is!

1 lot o diabetes is preventable! -ere we are not tal'ing about ,ype 1 because there is an absolute insulin de iciency due to destruction o islet cells in the pancreas! We are tal'ing about ,ype 2 Diabetes where the body produces insulin but there is insulin resistance* a

condition in which cells ail to use insulin properly! 1 big clue on how to prevent diabetes is that rates o type 2 diabetes have increased mar'edly over the last ;0 years in parallel with obesity! Diabetes mellitus occurs throughout the world* but type 2 is more common in the more developed countries! ,he increase in incidence in developing countries ollows the trend o urbani/ation and li estyle changes* perhaps most importantly a =Western6style= diet!

What can we do to prevent ourselves and those we 'now getting this illness> Well its 'nown that obesity is thought to be the primary cause o type 2 diabetes in people who are genetically predisposed to the disease! ,ype 2 diabetes is initially managed by increasing e7ercise and dietary modi ication!

?egarding diet* the ta'e home message is reducing processed ood* white rice* white sugar* so t drin's* sweets* crisps* ast ood* ried ood and ba'ery products! ,hrough processing ood* we are ta'ing out iber and we are ma'ing ats more saturated* which is increasing diabetes! ,hough its di icult to do* li'e giving up smo'ing to reduce the ris' o cancer and heart disease* the evidence is there* just as there is to show smo'ing is harm ul or many! "n the @ournal o Progress in 5ipid ?esearch A$: 213: $$0;1B* ?isCrus and Willet in their @anuary 200+ paper entitled* =Dietary ats and prevention o type 2 diabetes= showed that saturated ats and trans atty acids increase the ris' o type 2 diabetes and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated at decrease the ris'! Please note that the largest amount o trans at consumed today is created by the processed ood industry as a side e ect o partially hydrogenating unsaturated plant ats 2generally vegetable oils3! ,hese partially hydrogenated ats have displaced natural solid ats and li4uid oils in many areas* the most notable ones being in the ast ood* snac' ood* ried ood* and ba'ed goods industries!

"n the @ournal o the 1merican Dedical 1ssociation A2+2 2:3: +E:B* FD 1povian in his 200$ paper entitled =%ugar6%weetened %o t Drin's* .besity* and ,ype 2 Diabetes= showed that consumption o sugar6sweetened drin's in e7cess is associated with an increased ris'! "n the 1merican @ournal o Flinical #utrition AE+ 2;3: EE$0EE+B* 5ee % (ross* 5i 5i* Earl % &ord and %imin 5iu showed the same in their 200$ paper entitled* ="ncreased consumption o re ined carbohydrates and the epidemic o type 2 diabetes in the Gnited %tates: an ecologic assessment!= "n the journal Firculation A121 2113: 13;H0H$* I% DalilB* )D Pop'in* (1 )ray* @P DesprCs and &) -u in their 23 Darch 2010 paper entitled =%ugar %weetened )everages* .besity* ,ype 2 Diabetes and Fardiovascular Disease ris'= also showed the same!

"n the )ritish Dedical @ournal 2)D@3 2Flinical research ed!3 A3$$B E1 -u* 1 Pan* I Dali' and J %un* in their 1; Darch 2012 paper entitled =White rice consumption and ris' o type 2 diabetes: meta6analysis and systematic review*= showed that eating lots o white rice

appears to also play a role in increasing ris' o type 2 diabetes!

"n the )ritish journal* ,he 5ancet A3:0 2+:3:3: 21+02+B* "6Din 5ee* Eric @ %hiroma* &elipe 5obelo* Pe''a Pus'a* # %teven and Peter , Kat/mar/y' in their 1 @uly 2012 paper entitled =E ect o physical inactivity on major non6communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis o burden o disease and li e e7pectancy= showed that a lac' o e7ercise is believed to cause E< o cases!

" we are to heed to this advice and evidence* we will be o appropriate weight* healthier and less li'ely to su er rom type 2 diabetes and other obesity related illness! %o let us play our role in educating others and helping to prevent diabetes upon others this year!